How does a top-ranked pancake mix stack up?

Many years ago, my maternal grandfather, Bompa, made great pancakes from scratch that he called “griddle cakes.” They were as large as the skillet in which each one was made. He would make two for himself and sandwich fried eggs and bacon in between, then top the whole thing off with syrup. Not my favorite, but he sure liked it.

My Mom made us pancakes using Bisquick, a premixed baking blend. Log Cabin brand syrup was my family’s syrup of choice, and I still recall the cabin-shaped tin it came in.

The best restaurant pancakes I ever had were from Walker Bros. in Wilmette. My former wife and I would head over there from our Chicago apartment on a Saturday morning and stand in line (they did not take reservations) for up to an hour (sometimes longer) to get a table. That was — and is — the only restaurant of any kind worth that long of a wait.

During my two weight-loss journeys in the 1990s and 2000s, I used artificially sweetened, maple-flavored syrups since they had only 10 calories per two tablespoons, whereas real maple syrup has more than 100 calories.

For the last 10 years, when I have a hankering for pancakes, I make them from scratch with buttermilk, organic eggs, butter and flour. I use Mark Bittman’s recipe for Everyday Pancakes from the New York Times. I follow it exactly, making terrific pancakes every time.

Way back, I used to prefer “real” maple syrup, Grade B, which has a darker color and deeper flavor than Grade A.

These days I use Choc Zero’s Premium Maple Flavored Syrup. It has zero sugar, is high in fiber, delivers one net carb, and uses monk fruit extract instead of sugar or chemicals. It contains only four recognizable ingredients and would be great if it were zero calories. However, the 70 calories per 2 tablespoons is worth it. It’s available at Walmart.

Warning: Choc Zero’s syrup is not cheap and generally costs $8.99 for 10.5 ounces. That can work if you have pancakes or waffles as infrequently as I do.

After noticing several websites picking King Arthur Baking Company Buttermilk Pancake Mix ($6.49 for 16 ounces at Whole Foods) as No. 1, I decided to give it a try. It’s easy to prepare by adding a half cup of water to one cup of mix. While the batter rests, as the package suggests, I let my iron skillet heat up.

How do I know the skillet’s ready? I flick water droplets on the skillet. If they evaporate instantly, it’s too hot. If they just lay there, it’s not hot enough. If the droplets skitter and dance around, the skillet’s ready.

My pancakes turned out beautifully from the very first one. I used 1/3-cup batter, instead of the ¼-cup the package suggested. The package also suggested that an egg, milk or oil can be added to bump up the flavor. Mine were fine without an addition.

But how does this mix stack up against the ones I make from scratch from Bittman’s recipe? Besides the difference in effort and time, my scratch pancakes have a bigger, richer flavor since I add organic buttermilk, fresh local eggs and organic butter. But when time or ingredients are an issue, King Arthur’s just-add-water method is a great option.

If you give either product a try, let me know what you think.

• Don Mauer welcomes questions, comments and recipe makeover requests. Write to him at 1leanwizard@gmail.com.